First off, “enlightened self-interest” isn’t a term coined by one genius in a vacuum—it’s more of a cultural mashup, emerging in the 18th and 19th centuries as ideas about individualism and society started to tangle.
While John Stuart Mill doesn’t explicitly use it, as we noted, his utilitarian nudge toward balancing personal gain with collective good often gets tagged with the label in retrospect.
Jeremy Bentham: Greatest Happiness Principle
Same goes for Jeremy Bentham, Mill’s predecessor—his “greatest happiness principle” implies a self-interest that’s savvy enough to consider others, though he’s less about enlightenment and more about raw calculation.
Adam Smith: Invisible Hand
Step back a bit, and you’ll find echoes in the Enlightenment itself—thinkers like Adam Smith, the Scottish economist and philosopher, come to mind. In The Wealth of Nations (1776), Smith doesn’t say “enlightened self-interest” outright, but his “invisible hand” is a kissing cousin. He argues that individuals chasing their own profit—like bakers baking bread for their own gain—end up serving society’s needs, not out of kindness but because it’s how markets work. It’s self-interest with an enlightened twist: you don’t mean to help others, but your rational pursuit of your own ends does it anyway. Sound familiar? That byproduct effect aligns with TameFlow’s angle, though Smith’s focus is economic, not mental-model-driven.
Alexis de Tocqueville: Self-Interest Rightly Understood
Across the pond, Alexis de Tocqueville, the French observer of American life, drops the actual phrase in Democracy in America (1835-1840). Writing about the young United States, he notes how Americans often act from “self-interest rightly understood”. He describes how they pursue personal gain but grasp that long-term prosperity ties into community welfare—like funding schools not for altruism but because educated neighbors make life better for everyone, including themselves. Tocqueville’s take is practical, less philosophical than Mill’s, and leans on social habits over moral duty. It’s closer to TameFlow in that the focus stays on the self, with collective good as a smart consequence, not a goal.
Ayn Rand: Rational Self-Interest
Fast-forward to the 20th century, and Ayn Rand’s Objectivism, as discussed, doesn’t use “enlightened self-interest” explicitly—she’d likely scoff at the “enlightened” qualifier as redundant. But her “rational self-interest”, rooted in reason and individualism, shares DNA with the concept.
Abraham Maslow: Hierarchy of Needs
Meanwhile, in psychology, Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (from his 1943 paper “A Theory of Human Motivation”) hints at something similar. At the self-actualization peak, people chase personal growth and fulfillment, often in ways that ripple outward—think artists or innovators whose work benefits others as a side effect of their own drive. Maslow doesn’t call it “enlightened self-interest,” but the vibe’s there: a higher, self-focused pursuit with broader impact.
Milton Friedman: Free Markets and Self-Interest
In political and economic spheres, the term gets tossed around too. Libertarians like Milton Friedman nod to it implicitly—his Capitalism and Freedom (1962) argues that free markets let self-interest fuel societal good, no coercion needed.
Robert D. Putnam: Social Capital
Business ethics folks also love it, especially in corporate social responsibility debates. Writers like Robert D. Putnam in Bowling Alone (2000) use “enlightened self-interest” to describe how individuals join civic groups not for selfless reasons but because it boosts their own social capital—again, self first, community as a bonus.
Enlightenment Thinkers
Philosophical schools? The Enlightenment thinkers (Locke, Rousseau, Smith) set the stage by wrestling with self-interest versus social order, but no single “school” owns the term.
William James and John Dewey: Pragmatism and Experiential Learning
Pragmatism, maybe—think William James or John Dewey—could claim a piece, with its focus on practical outcomes over abstract ideals. Acting in your own interest, enlightened by what works, discovered through experience, fits their mold, though they don’t label it as such.
The Term “Enlightened Self-Interest”
So, the term itself? Tocqueville’s the clearest historical hitter, with Smith and Mill as indirect proponents. Rand and Maslow offer modern parallels without the exact phrasing.
The common thread across these is self-interest sharpened by reason, experience, or insight, often yielding unintended collective perks—though TameFlow’s mental-model twist and strict “self-only” focus make it a unique flavor.